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Dan Barnett
Daniel Jeffrey “Dan” Barnett (born April 13, 1935) is a former American politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as the 41st Governor of Kansas from 1983 to 1991, and the United States Representative from Kansas's 3rd district from 1967 to 1983. He was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2000. Early life and early career Daniel Jeffrey Barnett was born on April 13, 1935 in Kansas City, Kansas to Jeff Barnett, a banker and military veteran and his wife Margaret, a registered nurse. He eventually followed in his father’s footsteps, entering into business and banking by graduating from the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston in 1955 with his MBA. He worked as a banker in neighboring Kansas City, Missouri for the next twelve years. During this time he also began his political career by serving as the finance chairman of the Wyandotte County Republican Central Committee. He became a popular figure within the local and state Republican Parties which put in the sights of party officials who encouraged him to run for office. He declined for many years until he agreed to run for the Wyandotte and Johnson Counties-based 3rd congressional district in 1966 at the age of thirty-two. United States House of Representatives Barnett handily defeated his Democratic opponent by 53%–46%. He would be reelected seven more times until his retirement from Congress in 1983. During his time in the House of Representatives, he served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and was heavily involved in U.S.-Soviet relations often showing himself to be extremely reluctant about giving into Soviet demands. As a member of the committee he also opposed the meeting between the leaders of the United States and the People’s Republic of China when it was announced on July 15, 1971. He released a statement that said in part, “As a member of the United States Congress and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee I am deeply troubled that the President is willing to normalize relations with a brutal regime that disrespects human rights and shows its politics to be contrary to America’s values and her interests.” Despite his initial opposition and fervent anti-communist beliefs, Congressman Barnett became more willing to work with China and praised the country’s capitalistic economic reforms that began in 1978. By 1980, Barnett had become Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and was one of the earliest supporters of the rollback of the detente policy with the Soviet Union, supporting escalating an arms race with the USSR while engaging in talks with its leadership. In regards to domestic policy, Barnett supported reducing the size and role of government and supported states’ rights as well as fiscal conservatism. Representing a moderate district and being well respected as one of the great conservative thinkers in regards to foreign policy, Barnett was one of the best congressmen in terms of brokering compromises, enacting legislation and maintaining civility. Barnett was a moderate conservative during his time in the House and was highly respected by both his Republican and Democratic colleagues. Barnett declined to stand for reelection in 1982, stating that his time as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee “doing the important work of the nation in regards to foreign policy and national security” had streered his focus away from truly representing the interests of Kansas’ 3rd and that he needed “time at home to regain perspective”. Governor of Kansas Not long after announcing his retirement from Congress, Barnett announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 1982 Kansas gubernatorial election. During the primary and throughout the general election, Barnett reinvented his moderate reputation into that of a folksy populist with the slogan, “Barnett for Governor. Doing It Right and Putting People First”. He won the primary and defeated Democratic nominee, Kansas Secretary of Commerce and Housing Joan Addams in the general election by | |[[Category:Characters]]||}}'''